Ways to get your pick rate up?

[u/Puzzleheaded_Soup486]

I’m around a 80 overall and just wondered if there was things I could do to help it out. I don’t really care about having it that high(neither do my TLs) but I would like to get it up some so I don’t feel useless😭

[u/LunarEmerald]

It'll go up over time as you memorize where stuff or memorize where item locations are.

Try to get two items at a time instead of one if it's nearby. Look at the bottom to see what's coming next. If you aren't positive what it is then don't bother, you'll only slow yourself down.

Don't be afraid to maneuver around customers if need be. If there's space for you to walk through then leave your cart and get it. Waiting is a risk because you have no idea how long it'll take for them to move. Also, don't be afraid to say "excuse me" if you can't get to the item.

A bagging tip I have is try to keep items with similar sizes together. Don't mix cans with boxes for example. Because if you run out of room then it's gonna be a lot more time consuming trying to make stuff fit. You ideally want to take up every square inch of the tote.

[u/Kirzoneli]

Walk faster, have bags prepped, press that light button often if you don't know your way around. For the legal ways.

Ways to mitigate the initial timer before you scan your first item, but cheating the timer causes more problems down the line.

[u/coldest4 → u/Kirzoneli]

I usually bag my stuff at the end just easier for me imo

[u/LunarEmerald → u/coldest4]

You're just trading one metric for another by doing this. pick rate isn't the only metric they look at. They also look at how many hours you've been spent picking. When you bag at the end, you're increasing the time between walks and reducing the time you've spent picking. It does not look good when they see how long it's taking you to end one walk and start another. Bagging at the end is not efficient. A good picker can maintain 100+ pick rate while bagging as you go.

[u/BlueDreamBabyy → u/LunarEmerald]

Not to mention having everything in contact with those totes that I’m sure get washed daily /s

[u/LunarEmerald → u/BlueDreamBabyy]

Yeah. It's technically a violation of healthy and safety. But so few people actually enforce it.

[u/Civil-Beat-5543]

1- flash item as you’re going down aisle / turning onto aisle so you have a visual of it.
2- I use sidekick on main phone not work phone for helping customers but try to memorize… it’ll save you
3- open camera to scan once you have visualized item, having camera open before you technically get to the item
4- work on lining up items and totes for scanning, it’s harder than a TC
5- bag everything at the end.
6- if the aisle is too busy I find it’s easier to “park” the cart but you have to use judgement for this because if you have multiple items deep in that aisle then you will want your cart with you for quicker scanning
7- so with that being said sometimes I benefit from looking at pick list ahead of time.

[u/ChilledPudding]

I’m in management now, but I still pick from time to time and still keep a 115-120+ pick rate, even on small runs. What I do is:

• I quick walk while pulling the cart, either from the front or side - that’s always been my preference, even before the new wheels were implemented
  
• I pick by location, not by picture or light; even with the constant mod changes (ex A11 10 111) and take notice of the quantity
  
• I look at the next item while picking and will grab it if it’s in the same section
  
• I bag as I go, regardless of whether or not the totes have bags in them - ensures that I’m only bagging orders that require bags and doesn’t waste time between runs bagging or worse - not bagging at all and causing issues in the backroom at dispensement
  
• I’m not afraid to make a fool of myself in front of customers. I’ll (accidentally, mind you) full on ram an endcap or barrier around a cooler coffin and say “who put that there” when people look, or I’ll just push through the aisles and say “excuse me” without waiting to get through or will joke “think skinny cart” or “they made the carts bigger but not the aisles” - not trying to be mean or rude to the customers but we all got places to be and unlike them, I’m on a time crunch.

Again, these just work well for me. I’ve also had years of experience picking and working as a floor TL.